Flat type sling



Jan. 23, 1962 J. R. NELSON ET AL 3,018,128

FLAT TYPE SLING Filed Sept. 25, 1959 INVENTORS JOHN R. NELSON MAURICE J. GOSSELIN BY M, EJ 6 4 Wm/m, Zizmawi M 4 2 ATTORNEYS Unit 3,018,128 Patented Jan. 23, 1962 3,018,128 FLAT TYPE SLING John R. Nelson, Wilbraham, and Maurice I. Gosselin,

Springfield, Mass, assignors to The Colorado Fuel and Iron (Zorporation, Denver, (3010., a corporation or Colorado Filed Sept. 25, 1959, Ser. No. 842,286 1 Claim. (Cl. 294- 74) This invention relates to fiat slings having several parallel ropes or cables attached to end fixtures, and has for its object the provision of an improved sling of this type. The improved sling of the invention is formed of several individual ropes each of which is attached at its end to a common fixture by means of which the ends of the sling may be connected to a lifting device such as a grappling hook.

The improved sling of the invention comprises a plurality of separate ropes, objectively of equal length, each rope having a secured fitting on each end which serves as an attachment head. The end fixtures are constructed with securing means for attaching each head. In a preferred embodiment of the invention the fixture comprises a receiving means in which the heads are mounted in a row and secured therein to arrange the ropes in a flat or common plane.

The improved sling preferably comprises a multiplicity of rubber or other plastic blocks into which the ropes are inserted to form spacers for the ropes and to provide cushions for the articles being lifted. These blocks not only prevent the cables from marring the surface of the articles being lifted but, due to their resiliency, they tend to equalize the load on the individual ropes.

In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a flat sling of the invention; and

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view at 22 of FIG. 1.

The sling illustrated in the drawings comprises a plurality of separate ropes 1 usually called cables or wire ropes, of substantially equal length. A swaged head 2 having a bearing shoulder 3 is securely attached on each end of each rope. This head may have any suitable shape that will enable it to be removably secured in a pocket or groove holder 4 of the end fixtures 5 and, to this end, may be cylindrical as shown or some other shape provided it is sufiiciently larger than the rope to be anchored in the holder of the fixture. This head may be of any suitable metal applied in any suitable way. It is preferred to form the heads of steel applied by cold-flow pressing.

Each fixture is formed of two parts 7 and 8 which are substantially identical, each consisting of a hook receiving hole 9, in the narrowed end, a transverse groove 10 forming the pockets 4 for the heads 2 and a plurality of semicylindrical grooves 11 for the ropes 1. The coinciding groove 10 forms the pockets and the coinciding grooves 11 form cylindrical holes for the ropes securing them in proper spacing.

The two halves 7 and 8 are preferably flat and are secured together in planar relation at 12. The parts 8 have two guide holes 13 and 14 for receiving the lugs 15 and 16 on the part 7 to facilitate the assembly of the sling and assist in holding the two halves together. When the two parts 7 and 8 are assembled, the superposed grooves 10 form the channel or pocket 4 for receiving and securing the heads 2, and the superposed semicylindrical grooves 11 form the cylindrical holes for holding the ropes in proper spaced relation to each other and also the heads. The grooves 10 provide shoulders 17 against which the shoulders 3 of the heads make hearing contact. Instead of a single channel 4 and holes 11, the fixture may be formed, for example, to provide individual pockets for the heads.

After the heads are arranged in a groove 10 in one of the half-fixtures as shown in the drawings, the other half-section is applied thereover with the lugs 15 and 16 in the holes 13 and 14 respectively and the two halves are secured together by suitable screws. As shown, the member 7 is bored and tapped to receive a plurality of socket head cap screws 18, and member 8 is drilled and counterbored to receive the heads of these screws which secure the two members together.

The sling illustrated comprises a multiplicity of closely spaced rubber blocks 20, each having two cylindrical holes 21, one for each rope. These blocks are preferably assembled by threading the ropes through the holes and then forming the heads 2 by cold pressing them over the ropes.

We claim:

The improved flat sling which comprises a plurality of individual ropes of substantially equal length and arranged in a flat position, a multiplicity of load-bearing rubber blocks through which the ropes are threaded, each rope having a swaged head secured on each end, each head being considerably larger in diameter than the rope and having a tension bearing means, a fixture at each end of the ropes having lift-engaging means, each fixture consisting of two parts and a channel therebetween for securing the heads, and a hole for each rope between the parts connecting with the channel which holds the ropes in proper spaced relation, said parts of the fixture being removably connected together for securing the heads in the channel where the tension-bearing means engage the fixture, said fixture being flat and not appreciably thicker than the rubber blocks.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,107,889 Burns Aug. 18, 1914 1,207,483 Bolus Dec. 5, 1916 1,432,117 Miller Oct. 17, 1922 2,960,365 Meisen Nov. 15, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS 169,639 Austria Dec. 10, 1951 352,856 Germany May 6, 1922 505,372 Great Britain May 9, 1939 780,794 Great Britain Aug. 7, 1957 806,461 Great Britain Dec. 23, 1958. 

